This is Strange!

[mousie]

thanks to everyone about replying to the post I had about going for walks, it's the wierdest thing, but, my doggy Roscoe is Extremely afraid of floor vents, that's right, floor vents! He won't go even close to one, and sometimes he barks at them does anybody elses dog have any stange fears like that?

[lisahumphreys882]

My dog is afraid of the vents on boulevards. He won't bark at them but he won't walk on them and if I try to put him on it he won't budge. He's also afraid or cautious if there's something new in a surounding that wasn't there before. For example when he was a puppy there was a pile of blankets on the floor that wern't there before and he started growling at them and he was creeping up slowly to them like they were going to jump out at him.

[Karen]

He's just smart - ghosties and spooks can creep out of vents when y'aren't looking ... Okay, so it's just strange breezes, but try explaining that in "dog!"

[Lady's Human]

For odd fears (and I'm talking FEAR, not dislike)

one of our RB pups, Gracie, was TERRIFIED of water. Water EATS puppies. She'd turn into a quivering mass of Dane/Lab jello at the mere thought of crossing a stream!

[IloveMyDogs900]

Ok heres what ya do! Make him try to like um make it like a game to him! If you do this maybe he will here is some ideas tell him to go near one anf say the dogs name and say this dogs name come here and i will give you and treat! If he comes give him the treat and pet him! Try that see if it works!
Goooood Luckkkkkk

[VTJess03]

Belle used to be afraid of the floor vents. She would bark whenever the furnace came on, at least for the first few days that it was turned on (we didn't have a/c for summer time). She just gradually got used to the change as winter wore on and stopped barking. I guess the game got boring to her.

[Bronx'sBower]

Our Bower has many strange habits but his most recent obsession is cobwebs. We have to clean our walls weekly to keep the cobwebs and spiderwebs from appearing but if we haven't gotten them all-he lets us know. He will sit and bark at the cobweb until we remove, then he'll search for another until all the webs are gone. Then he rests peacefully in his crate and goes to sleep-he's a weirdo.

[Lescoop77]

Pandy is afraid of dry leaves, yes leaves. When we're walking in the fall, on the sidewalk if there is a path of leaves she will jump around them! ahahahah it's hilarious.

[catnapper]

Nicki was TERRIFEID of her new collar. I put it on her and she cowered and shook with fear. The moment I took it off, she was back to normal. I had to return the collar!

As for vents, thats not a strange fear at all. She probably thinks she'll fall through or hurt her paw. Most likely she DID hurt her paw on one when she was much younger.

[gardengirl]

I always find our doggies' fears so interesting. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to some of them. It would have been great if we all knew about socialization when we first got our pups. Most of these fears develop when the dogs are very young.

Because a fear can develop and last a lifetime, I try to socialize all new dogs that come to live with us. I'm talking about prevention. There are all kinds of things that we can gently expose our pups to when they're young: sights, sounds, floor surfaces, different ethnicities of people, smells, and situations. For instance, you find your new pup is freaked out by a helium balloon when you went to the mall. What should you do? Take your pup home, go to the store and buy a helium balloon. Let it go in your house. Then just start feeding the pup treats when he looks at it. Let it hang around for days until the dog becomes desensitized and doesn't even care.

For any of you that still have young dogs, there are more socialization ideas on this page: http://loveyourdog.com/fieldtrps.html . I make a list of all the things I want to expose my dog to, and check them off as I do it. I'm careful not to do too much, too soon.

[zoey]

Daisy barked at a crane yesterday.
She has barked at her own shadow before.

[Aurie]

If the fear is a problem, you can try to desensitize him. You start out by feeding him close to the vent, not where he will react in fear to it. Every couple of days you can move the feed bowl a little closer. Do the same with treats and rewards.